The Camera Eats First

Travelling the world taking photos of and eating amazing food of all shapes and forms. A photo / travel blog dedicated to gastroenthusiasts everywhere!

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I met up with some Montréal friends visiting Toronto for a conference for sushi at KoJa Restaurant in Liberty Village. Their sushi creations are not dishes that would bring purists joy, but the purple rice they use is definitely something worth trying (if not at least photographing, look at all the contrasting colours!). The presentation is also very meticulous and interesting: huge sushi boats and bonsai tree plate decoration. Food quality is also not bad, albeit the saucing is a bit too liberal and intense at times.

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We had grandiose plans of fishing trout in a swimming pool (seriously!) and then cooking our spoils for a seafood dinner. Sadly, our fishing skills left much to be desired and we left emptyhanded. As such, we went to the supermarket and bought some fish and cooked it three ways: steamed, pan-fried, and baked. The results weren’t half bad!

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I first heard of Richmond Station from Michael, whose co-owner is none other than Top Chef Canada winner Chef Carl Heinrich. I dragged Ryan, who was visiting from Montréal, to try it out. We couldn’t decided between the appetizers, so we just ordered 4 appetizers to share, skipped the mains, and went straight to dessert. Our favourite appetizers of the night were the bulgogi steak tartare and halibut fish pancakes. The tartare was bursting with flavour and paired very well with the wonton chips. The halibut fish pancakes resembled croquettes more than anything, but were stuffed with very fresh fish. The lamb neck croquettes and duck confit lettuce wraps were go as well.

The highlight of the night though was, for sure, dessert. We shared the Japanese cheesecake with matcha ice cream and the sholeh zard (saffron ice cream with saffron tapioca pudding, rhubarb, and chickpea-pistachio crumble). The cheesecake was light and fluffy as is expected of the Japanese style. The sholeh zard impressed me the most as it was a beautiful combination of exotic flavours, where you could feel the chef's conviction for dessert in every bite! 

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Lady Marmalade is perhaps the most famous brunch place in Toronto east of the Don River. Chris and I dropped by over the weekend before 9am and there was already a line-up. I ordered the poached egg BLT, while Chris had the cochinita pibil eggs benedict. The food scene in the East is still good and strong!

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I went to a dinner meeting at Sheherzade Restaurant for some Persian food. We started with kal kabob, which is a dip of charred eggplant, crushed garlic, chopped tomato, ground walnut and pomegranate juice. For my main, I had the kabob bakhtiari, which is a skewer of alternating strips of beef and chicken, served with saffron basmati rice and grilled tomato. I don’t usually have Persian food, but this was a very positive culinary experience.

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I never thought one could get decent coffee and breakfast food from a food truck, but Egg Man proved me wrong. Their tater tots are on point!

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Decided to try Dears Cafeteria, the Taiwanese cafe near the AGO with the punny name (because their logo is a deer, and they also have a deer statue in their storefront). Their make your own dessert combos and crepes are pretty good and filling. 

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Chetna and I sneaked off work slightly early to get a table at Japango without too much trouble. We tried their infamous Japango roll, among other maki classics. The fish is fresh, but the maki combinations are a bit too corrupted for my purist palate.

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We had breakfast at the innocuous De Farine et d’Eau Fraîche cafe tucked away on a side street in Le Village. Upon walking into the cafe, we were struck by the variety and magnificence of the baked goods and confectionery on display. The proverbial kid in a candy store is not sufficient to describe our elation. I eventually settled on the matcha scone and hot chocolate.   

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I need to learn to take better dinner notes (or just post photos in a more timely manner). These photos were from my dinner at Le Quartier Général, but I have since forgotten exactly which dish was what. Rest assured however that I remembered the food was excellent (even though I was quite inebriated from the wine, another reason to love BYOB restaurants!).

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My perennial favourite place in Montréal for Singaporean food is of course Satay Bros in Marché Atwater. It’s become crazy popular since I first came here a few years ago, and I can’t be more happy for their success because their food is still just as evocative of my Singapore halcyon days as ever.

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We waited at the door for Lawrence to open. Their brunch is exciting to say the least, with none of the classic benedicts, scrambles, or waffles. We tried the smoked wild salmon with scrambled eggs, and pig's trotter with soft boiled eggs, anchovy and root vegetables. Aside from the slightly burnt toast, we left wholly satisfied and amused at their wallpaper choice in the washroom.

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Poutine, one of the few things that will always draw me back to Montréal time and time again. I always find myself at the Temple of Cheese Curds, the Mosque of Gravy, the Church of Fresh Cut Fries - La Banquise. I confess all my gastronomical sins. Lactose intolerance be damned, the consequences I do willingly bear.

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On a trip to Montréal, finally got the chance to get a lunch reservation at Bistro Japonais Furusato near UQAM. Located downstairs from street level, it is more rustic and homely than sketchy. The food is truly authentic, unpretentious, simple, yet fresh and delicious. 

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Utsav is a very reasonable-priced restaurant that delivers good quality Indian food from Yorkville. Our lab essentially took over the entire small restaurant, stuffing our faces with as much naan and curry as the kitchen could make.

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With a name like Sushi Couture, one would think and hope that I would have the common sense to avoid it. However, at the suggestion of one of my labmates, I decided to try this sushi joint in the Annex. The sashimi was certainly fresh and the fish selection is quite notable. I ordered the eponymous couture maki, which was visually beautiful and intricate, but tasted overwhelmingly of mayonnaise and regret. On a side note, they have a Illy’s espresso combo with maki for lunch.

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It is very difficult to coax Yuhin to come downtown on the weekends to hang out, but somehow I managed to do just that this particular Sunday for brunch at Beast. He ordered the Labatt 50 breakfast (sans beer), while I tried the Leroy sandwich. The sandwich biscuit was a bit soggy and the soy sauce was a bit on the overpowering side, but the combination of a perfectly fried chicken with house kimchi still made it a solid brunch experience.